A Swayze and the Ghosts: Paid Salvation review – a faultless debut
Angry, tuneful and woke – this Tasmanian punk band dazzle on all counts - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarSault: Untitled (Rise) review – mystery collective make best album of 2020, again
Just 12 weeks after their previous double album, the British group dance from sorrow to resistance, mixing fearless lyrics with house, funk and disco - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarPeter Grimes review – insightful recording is among the opera’s finest
Britten’s opera sounds huge and thrilling in a nuanced recording with sparkling interplay between singers and orchestra – it’s rarely sounded better - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarIves: Complete Symphonies review – Dudamel captures the rapture of an iconoclast
The conductor and his orchestra express the transcendental immensity of Ives, especially in a glorious Fourth Symphony - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarFontaines DC: A Hero's Death review – all the joy and despair of youth is here
The Dublin band deliver a difficult but powerful second album full of songwriting that stares life in the face - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarShirley Collins: Heart's Ease review – unerring brilliance
The veteran singer’s comeback really takes wing with this impeccably judged set - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarTaylor Swift: Folklore review – bombastic pop makes way for emotional acuity
Released with little fanfare this move to more muted songwriting is proof Swift’s music can thrive without the celebrity drama - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarEighth Blackbird: Singing in the Dead of Night review – irresistible, propulsive variations
Three Bang on a Can composers tease lines from the Beatles’ Blackbird into sparky, fierce and unpredictable works, played with exuberance - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarHaim: Women in Music Pt III review – a cathartic walk on the blue side of life
The three sisters switch into melancholy for this richly searching, explosively produced third album - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarBessie Jones: Get in Union review – 60 songs straight from the gut and heart
This remastered set of Jones’s recordings with the Georgia Sea Island Singers richly celebrates a traditional vocalist of key historical importance - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarAG Cook: Apple review – magical shifts in tone
Abrasive techno and acoustic guitars collide on AG Cook’s second album in a month - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarTim Garland: Refocus review – a classic 60s fusion revisited
The saxophonist takes Stan Getz’s unique collaboration with Eddie Sauter in a bold new direction - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarJohn Coltrane: Giant Steps 60th Anniversary Edition review – more a giant leap in jazz
This celebratory reissue includes outtakes that confirm the original’s brilliance and a sense of a jazz genius in transition - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarAva Max: Heaven & Hell review – turbo-charged 2010s pop joy
Back to the era of prime Gaga and Katy Perry with nailed-on melodies and high-wire vocals - this album is determined to entertain - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarStille Liebe: Lieder by Schumann review – drama with poise and style
Hasselhorn’s rich, dark baritone captures Schumann’s extraordinary extremes of light and darkness and Middleton is a discerning accompanist - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarPJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love (Demos) review – gripping outtakes from 1995
Previously unheard demos from the singer-songwriter’s third album throw her extraordinary lyrics into dramatic relief - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarAnjimile: Giver Taker review – a compelling debut
There are strong echoes of Sufjan Stevens, but this US singer-songwriter’s musings on self-discovery are very much their own - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarRichard and Linda Thompson: Hard Luck Stories 1972–1982 review – a tempestuous tale worth retelling
The highlight of this eight-CD box set is 31 previously unreleased tracks - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarSusanna: Baudelaire & Piano review – a cool breath of Nordic autumn
Clarity, strong melodies and composer Susanna Wallumrød’s luminous voice confound expectations on this meeting of poetry and piano - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarBróna McVittie: The Man in the Mountain review – eerie ambience and visionary space
Mc Vittie’s new album tempers her soft folk in collaborations with electronic duo Isan and trumpeter Arve Henriksen - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarDoves: The Universal Want review – soaring soundtrack to changing lives
The kings of catchy melancholia are back after a decade away – and their tried and tested blueprint has lost none of its magic - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarHannah Georgas: All That Emotion review – magisterial indie-pop for introverts
Georgas’s fourth album, immaculately produced by Aaron Dessner, traverses a personal and sometimes opaque journey - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarDeclan McKenna: Zeros review – pop prodigy is a very 21st-century boy
McKenna’s second album is in thrall to pop’s 1970s glam heroes, but his lyrics ponder today’s struggles, from the climate crisis to social media - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarKelly Lee Owens: Inner Song review – a DJ finds her voice
The musician-producer unleashes her own vocals on this brooding second album - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarAfel Bocoum: Lindé review – captivating desert blues with a twist
The Malian star’s breezy new album is studded with nicely judged guest appearances - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarToni Braxton: Spell My Name review – master of breakups and baby-making
Bolstered by guests Missy Elliott and HER, this is a full-bodied record that exhibits Braxton’s stylistic and vocal range - Kemi Alemoru
starstarstarstarstarBabe, Terror: Horizogon review – hear the dread and hope of lockdown
São Paulo producer Claudio Szynkier was already sadly familiar with self-isolation, and his new record chimes with our disorientating current moment - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarAndrew McCormack: Solo review – prepare to be seduced
Phenomenal technique of the most unshowy kind proves irresistible on this compelling solo piano set - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarBully: Sugaregg review – melody and candour in the great grunge tradition
Roars of primal pain are spliced with honeyed crooning on Alicia Bognanno’s exciting solo album, a candid portrait of her bipolar diagnosis - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarMino Cinélu/Nils Petter Molvær: SulaMadiana review – inventive duo connect Norway and the Caribbean
Percussionist and trumpeter create sparkling musical conversations across disparate cultural backgrounds, recalling Miles Davis, Afrobeat and more - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarIdris Ackamoor and the Pyramids: Shaman! review – brilliant shape-shifting
This blend of Afro-funk and free jazz is driven by fiery sax and a lyrical flute - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarBurna Boy: Twice as Tall review – fun and fury from Nigerian pop polymath
By rooting modern production in traditional melody, and drawing on various musical styles while staying true to African pop, Burna Boy defines multilayered black identity - Lloyd Bradley
starstarstarstarstarKath Bloom: Bye Bye These Are the Days review – beguiling, defiant folk
The Mary Oliver of folk sings of love and determination in a vital album that addresses the state of America - Laura Barton
starstarstarstarstarAlula Down: Postcards from Godley Moor, Summer 2020 review – a hazy lockdown in Weirdshire
Kate Gathercole and Mark Waters mark the shape-shifting effects of Covid in rural Britain, mixing traditional music with post-rock and ambience - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarMahler: Das Lied von der Erde review – Jurowski's lyrical insights power the great song symphony
The conductor’s fine recording with the Berlin Radio Symphony has accuracy, perception and crystalline detail - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarTkay Maidza: Last Year Was Weird Vol 2 review – fresh as a poolside mojito
The Australian-Zimbabwean’s third offering hits the sweet spot between hip-hop and breezy pop - Kate Hutchinson
starstarstarstarstarGillian Welch: Boots No 2: The Lost Songs, Vol 1 review – inspired outtakes from 2002
Spare yet perfectly formed, these discarded demos from Welch and David Rawlings – with more to come – offer riches galore - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarHarry Beckett: Joy Unlimited review – a lost classic from 1975
The late trumpeter and friends simply dazzle in this immaculate, feel-good set - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarGiacinto Scelsi: String Trio review – magical proto-minimalist reborn
Scelsi, writing in the 1930s, influenced Ennio Morricone, using microtonal variations on a single note to make revelatory music - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarEthel Smyth: The Prison review – symphony for a searching soul
A long overdue first recording for this work by the one-time imprisoned suffragette, detailing the spiritual awakening of a condemned man - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarVictoria Monét: Jaguar review – R&B's backroom genius breaks the rules
This is no lunge for the pop mainstream from the Ariana Grande songwriter, but an assured, inventive exploration of autonomy - Alim Kheraj
starstarstarstarstarBrandy: B7 review – back on her own terms
The familiar acrobatic vocals and sublime harmonies are there, but the R&B star’s first album in eight years is not all about nostalgia… - Kadish Morris
starstarstarstarstarDuma: Duma review – extreme Kenyan metalheads bring doom to the dancefloor
From Nairobi’s metal scene, Martin Kanja and Sam Karugu add techno to doom-laden guitars and distorted vocals on this exciting album - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarMaria Schneider Orchestra: Data Lords review – digital dystopia in jazz
The US composer, bandleader and Bowie collaborator protests big tech’s invasion of our lives on this powerful new album - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarElgar: Sea Pictures, Falstaff review – single note of nostalgia eludes an impeccable Barenboim
Elina Garanča’s golden tone and Barenboim’s precision are appealing, if they don’t quite find Elgar’s most English music - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarJessy Lanza: All the Time review – a bright star in pop's outer galaxies
Lanza’s enticing jumble of electronic experimentalism and R&B moves closer to the mainstream on her third album – you sense Janet Jackson would approve - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarLianne La Havas: Lianne La Havas review – purposeful, tender and bold
(Nonesuch)The Londoner’s voice takes centre stage on her impressive third album - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarThe Pretenders: Hate for Sale review – every song could be a single
Chrissie Hynde and co make it sound oh-so easy on the band’s 11th studio album - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarOumou Sangaré: Acoustic review – when less is magnificently more
The Malian superstar pares down her 2017 album Mogoya – plus some early classics – in this intimate unplugged session - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarShirley Collins: Heart's Ease review – the voice of a benevolent God
The folk veteran’s past, present and future come together on this full-hearted record - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarThe Chicks: Gaslighter review – former Dixies dish on divorce
There’s more going on here than a name change: the band’s trademark country-pop-with-attitude is fuelled by stories of rage and psychological abuse - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarProtomartyr: Ultimate Success Today review – predictive texts for a world in chaos
With stadium rock riffs and saxophone over lyrics about riots and respirators, the Detroit post-punks are the soundtrack of an uncertain future - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarRufus Wainwright: Unfollow the Rules review – a return to sumptuous basics
Wainwright’s 10th studio album is a lush, engaging study in domestic bliss - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarThe Streets: None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive review – a banging return
A lot has happened since Mike Skinner bowed out in 2011 – and this ‘album of rap duets’ is full of riches - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarCallum Au and Claire Martin: Songs and Stories review – Claire Martin in big band shock
The celebrated vocalist and young arranger breathe new life into jazz standards - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarMiguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Niño: Chicago Waves review – a chameleonic voyage with jazz rigour
This largely improvised set by two US multi-instrumentalists is a sonic journey from minimalism to ambience with panglobal percussive effects - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarSolitude review – loneliness or reverie? Intense songs with lockdown resonance
Singer James Gilchrist and pianist Anna Tilbrook explore aspects of being alone with composers including Purcell and Schubert on a powerful, poised album - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarPaul Weller: On Sunset review – a mellower modfather
The Changingman reveals his spiritual side on his funky, shimmering 15th solo album - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarDenai Moore: Modern Dread review – hypnotic, surrealist bid for freedom
Moore’s genre-blending electronic pop is an unsettling exploration of isolation and selfhood in an over-connected age - Timi Sotire
starstarstarstarstarKeleketla! review – London meets Soweto for multi-genre exuberance
Coldcut and an inspiring array of South African and British musicians – plus the late Tony Allen – combine on this beguiling album - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarDallapiccola: Il Prigioniero review – hope, despair and musical muscle in fine prison opera
The Italian composer’s lyrical yet economical drama confirms its status as one of the finest short stage works of the 20th century - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarMargo Price: That's How Rumors Get Started review – country survivor who can take on anything
Having lived through death, prison, homelessness and drug epiphanies, Margo Price is well equipped with country music’s subject matter – but treats it without sentimentality - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarJessie Ware: What's Your Pleasure? review – rooted in lustful disco
The singer-songwriter swaps luxe pop for the energy of the dancefloor on her heady fourth album - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarNadine Shah: Kitchen Sink review – razor-sharp observations
The singer-songwriter’s follow-up to Holiday Destination is a slow-burning joy - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarArca: Kick I review – dissonance meets overground ambitions
The Venezuelan electronic innovator adds guests and party tunes to her trademark glitchy sounds - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarKansas Smitty's: Things Happened Here review – irresistibly groovy
The east London bar-band’s knowing patchwork of jazz styles is ambitious and fun - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarZemlinsky: Die Seejungfrau review – baffling neglect of a glorious mermaid
This fine recording of Zemlinsky’s sumptuous late-Romantic work is another reminder of why the composer is unfairly neglected - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarSports Team: Deep Down Happy review – debut album with plenty to say
This six-piece band marry Britpop sensibilities with a US alt-rock sound - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarPhoebe Bridgers: Punisher review – from the heart
The LA songsmith’s second album doesn’t disappoint - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarBob Dylan: Rough and Rowdy Ways review – enthralling, mischievous – and very male
Dylan’s new album contains multitudes. Is it a last boomer hurrah? - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarClyne: Dance; Elgar Cello Concerto review – calm, motoric energy and gorgeous fusions
Anna Clyne’s impressive new work is a cello concerto inspired by Persian poetry and outshining the familiar Elgar work in Inbal Segev’s performance - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarNeil Young: Homegrown review – his great lost album, finally unearthed
Recorded after a relationship breakdown then never released, this mid-70s set has a pleasurable lightness of touch rather than big statement songs - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarAlicia Keys: Alicia review – classic and contemporary
Some fine collaborations enliven the soul singer’s most personal set so far - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarToots and the Maytals: Got to Be Tough review – a muscular, uptempo final album
(Trojan Jamaica/BMG)The reggae veteran, who has died aged 77, returned to themes of injustice with brio on a soulful but serious record - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarBach: Goldberg Variations review – Lavish Lang Lang recording suffocates the magic
He is talented, but the mannerisms and slow tempi turn this into a glitzy exercise with too few flashes of understanding - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarThrowing Muses: Sun Racket review – intense as ever
The US indie rockers go back to basics on their atmospheric 10th album - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarHannah Georgas: All That Emotion review – punches wrapped in velvet gloves
Georgas’s biting lyrics and gentle delivery find an ideal foil in producer Aaron Dessner - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarSarah Davachi: Cantus, Descant review – resonant drones on donated organs
Playing pipe organs across five cities, Davachi uses their gothic plumbing to create intimate studies in frequency - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarKaty Perry: Smile review – tireless trouper loses momentum
The US pop queen flits between styles on a fifth album that lacks focus - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarDisclosure: Energy review – accidental elegies for empty dancefloors
With nightclubs closed during coronavirus, the third album from the British pop-house duo has an unwittingly mournful quality - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarD’Erlanger & Dunhill: Piano Quintets review – fine quartet revives middling chamber music
Early 20th-century works are immaculately played by the Sydney-based quartet and pianist Piers Lane, though the music itself is oddly uninspiring - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarThe Killers: Imploding the Mirage review – an urge to surge
The millennial Queen try to return to multi-platinum sales with songs that are forever climaxing – to wearying effect - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarKiesza: Crave review – a comeback worth shouting about
The singer’s first album since a near-fatal car crash is studded with highs - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarBiffy Clyro: A Celebration of Endings review – smiley vs gnarly
The Scottish rock trio deliver an unresolved set of two halves - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarSea Girls: Open Up Your Head review – yearning for the moshpit's return
The fast-rising British indie band may be completely unoriginal, but big melodies and easy charm shine through songs about the wistful end of adolescence - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarGlass Animals: Dreamland review – technicolour pop shaded with pain
Trauma has triggered a more inward-looking exploration of the Oxford quartet’s grandstanding, hallucinogenic sound - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarAlanis Morissette: Such Pretty Forks in the Road review – back to the confessional
The Canadian singer-songwriter’s first album in eight years returns to her strengths - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarDominic Fike: What Could Possibly Go Wrong review – Gen Z star surfs genres
Fike’s star is in the ascendant, thanks to a guileless, summery blend of rap, rock and pop - Timi Sotire
starstarstarstarstarRachmaninov: Preludes, Études-Tableaux, etc review – refined, fluent playing
Babayan’s affinity with Rachmaninov is evident, though his personality shows most in the more substantial pieces - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarJessy Lanza: All the Time review – witching-hour jams
The Canadian producer takes a wicked turn in her deliciously offbeat third album - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarKamaal Williams: Wu Hen review – jazz-soul revivalist's fitful return
The London producer is happy to foreground his collaborators on his second solo album, but doesn’t make the most of them - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarJuice WRLD: Legends Never Die review – patron saint of the melancholy masses
The rapper’s posthumous album opens up to tackle his own legacy, as demons lurk around every corner - Sheldon Pearce
starstarstarstarstarJulianna Barwick: Healing Is a Miracle review – balm for the soul
The Louisiana-born musician’s ambient fourth album is a ravishing affair - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarDonna Missal: Lighter review – progressive torch singer sounds strangely retro
The second album by singer-songwriter Missal continues to explore her biggest rock/pop influences: Sheryl, Shania and Stevie - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarThe Streets: None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive review – from lad to dad
The musical landscape has shifted from Mike Skinner’s noughties tales of life and laddism, and this mixtape brings in the new guard from Ms Banks to Idles - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarDream Wife: So When You Gonna... review – a punk band that still sounds like one
The London-based trio’s second album is an enjoyably jagged, ambitious cacophony - Kate Hutchinson
starstarstarstarstarMulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience: To Know Without Knowing review – bright Ethio-jazz
The Melbourne collective and 76-year-old Astatke play wedding songs, political rap and cross-continental fusions - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarArca: KiCk i review – joyful sonic vision of what pop could be
Alejandra Ghersi’s new set is a subversive and mischievous fusion of aural fireworks and psychedelic lyricism aided by Björk, Shygirl, Rosalía and Sophie - John Twells
starstarstarstarstarNeil Young: Homegrown review – desolate lost breakup album
Young’s ditched 1975 album is one for completists only - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarJohn Legend: Bigger Love - synths, snogging and schmaltz
After his sixth album’s foray into the complexity of relationships, the syrupy singer’s seventh reverts to saccharine crooning, in praise of his wife - Alim Kheraj
starstarstarstarstar